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Bank of America questions customer’s citizenship, freezes accounts
Josh Collins and his wife, Jessica Salazar Collins, were notified by Bank of America that Josh, who was born in Wichita, had to prove his citizenship. They thought it was a scam until the bank cut off access to their assets.
He had received a mailer claiming to be sent by Bank of America that asked for personal information and citizenship information.
However, he has been a Bank of America customer for 20 years and was born a U.S. citizen, so he figured it could be a scam and that the bank would follow up if it was legitimate.
The next thing he knew, his accounts were frozen without notice.
...
We contacted Bank of America for comment and they sent the following statement:
"Like all financial institutions, we’re required by law to maintain complete and accurate records for all of our customers and may periodically request information, such as country of citizenship and proof of US residency. This is not unique to Bank of America. This type of outreach is nothing new and the information must be up to date. Therefore we periodically reach out to customers, which is what we did in this case.
Over time, we reach out to all customers to verify their information, not only specific customers. If we don’t hear from a customer in response to our outreach, as a last resort, we may restrict the account until we can confirm it is in compliance with regulatory requirements."
Why Bank of America asked Kansas man for proof of citizenship — and may ask you, tooHowever, he has been a Bank of America customer for 20 years and was born a U.S. citizen, so he figured it could be a scam and that the bank would follow up if it was legitimate.
The next thing he knew, his accounts were frozen without notice.
...
We contacted Bank of America for comment and they sent the following statement:
"Like all financial institutions, we’re required by law to maintain complete and accurate records for all of our customers and may periodically request information, such as country of citizenship and proof of US residency. This is not unique to Bank of America. This type of outreach is nothing new and the information must be up to date. Therefore we periodically reach out to customers, which is what we did in this case.
Over time, we reach out to all customers to verify their information, not only specific customers. If we don’t hear from a customer in response to our outreach, as a last resort, we may restrict the account until we can confirm it is in compliance with regulatory requirements."
Josh Collins and his wife, Jessica Salazar Collins, were notified by Bank of America that Josh, who was born in Wichita, had to prove his citizenship. They thought it was a scam until the bank cut off access to their assets.
But according to the California Bankers Association, the largest state affiliate of the national association, questions of citizenship are not federally required. “Not to our knowledge,” said the spokeswoman, Beth Mills.
She said federal law requires banks must obtain and verify only four things about account holders: name, date of birth, residential address and Social Security number.
Other federally chartered banks, including Wells Fargo, ask citizenship questions when some new deposit accounts are opened. The U.S. Department of the Treasury increasingly is urging financial institutions to collect as much information on customers as possible, including citizenship status, and to update often in part to ward against the laundering of money that may flow through foreign countries.
She said federal law requires banks must obtain and verify only four things about account holders: name, date of birth, residential address and Social Security number.
Other federally chartered banks, including Wells Fargo, ask citizenship questions when some new deposit accounts are opened. The U.S. Department of the Treasury increasingly is urging financial institutions to collect as much information on customers as possible, including citizenship status, and to update often in part to ward against the laundering of money that may flow through foreign countries.
